• Markets
  • Crypto
  • Web3
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Politics
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
  • Markets
  • Crypto
  • Web3
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Politics
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result

University Students Are Ditching Investment Banking For “Innovation,” Demand Fintech, Blockchain Courses and MBAs

09/06/2017 14:02
1 comment

“Ten years ago everyone wanted to go into investment banking or in the trading side. Now the students are much more interested in innovation,” Reena Aggarwal, Director of the Georgetown Center for Financial Markets and Policy, told Reuters.

A shortage of talent and skills related to blockchain technology specifically, and Fintech more generally, has recently developed as demand has increased considerably.

In response, American universities are now offering new Fintech courses, “driven by student demand,” university officials say, but as the field is very new they are finding it difficult to construct a syllabus.

“For fintech, some people mean bitcoin and cryptocurrencies; some people mean the technology JPMorgan uses for trading. Everyone thinks it’s sexy, and a lot of people use it colloquially without knowing what it is,” Angela Lee, Columbia Business School’s chief innovation officer, told Reuters.

What the students mean is probably blockchain technology as the recent boom has made this space cool with entrepreneurs now raising millions in seconds for innovative projects. Moreover, as everything is just starting out, there are so many opportunities in so many areas, with this space lacking any barriers.

More broadly, every financial institution has a blockchain lab now, with consultants telling them to ignore costs, ignore any regulatory or other uncertainties, and move full speed ahead as there may be strategic considerations – by which the consultants probably mean they may be disrupted, either by start-ups or competitors that take full advantage of new tech.

So blockchain expertise is in high demand and attracts a premium. To meet this demand some universities have set up blockchain specific centers. The most notable is Cornell University, where Emin Gün Sirer, who once tried to create his own decentralized digital currency, teaches.

They have set up IC3, the Initiative for CryptoCurrencies & Contracts. They’re fairly high impact in this space as far as research goes, and you might even get to meet Vitalik Buterin.

Vitalik Buterin giving a lecture at Cornell University.

Cambridge has a blockchain centre too and they’ve recently published some research on this space, with UCL another notable university that stands out for blockchain research.

If you are a bit more into cryptography, John Hopkins is a good bet as many of the researchers who contributed to Zcash’s invention are currently teaching there.

For a slightly more bitcoin focused unitversity, you can’t go wrong with MIT, one of the first to open a digital currencies centre, but we haven’t heard much from them.

As for what students may want out of these courses, the main thing is probably an in-depth look at blockchain technology, both public and private, as well as its use cases and business cases with some general history and perhaps studies of recent tests and pilots, many of which we have briefly covered on Trustnodes.

They would also probably want an understanding of smart contracts, perhaps even with some hands on coding. Some understanding of data analytics and algorithms as well as how that may connect to artificial intelligence.

There could also be some high level view of legal regulations that may affect this space with maybe some case studies of the relationship between law and innovation – specifically as it concerns enforcement.

Then of course studies on how to run or manage a business, how to market it, how to scale and handle demand, with case analysis of recent successful companies such as Ant Financial or WePay.

That syllabus requires a diverse range of experts and might be more useful as an undergraduate course than an MBA since there is plenty to learn, but they could probably charge top dollars for it and they might still be unable to meet all demand.

Because this space is booming and it is probably just the start as its breadth of applications continues to expand from industry to industry.

Moreover, it is very attractive because entrepreneurs are raising millions in seconds for innovative projects. Rockstars are rising, creating a $25 billion market out of nothing and get to even meet Putin. While 86% of bankers think public blockchains and private blockchains will gain greater prevalence in the next five years.

It’s where the action is, where innovation is happening, where the future is being built. With blockchain positions significantly on the rise while businesses are unable to fill them.

Blockchain team sizes at financial institutions according to a report by Cognizant.

That’s because blockchain technology promises many benefits for established companies and new startups, with a recent report by Cognizant, a consultancy firm, stating:

“The vast majority of respondents (90%) said their firm has identified or is in the process of identifying functions or processes that can be automated with blockchain, and three-quarters said they expect the technology will eventually allow them to automate 2.5% or more jobs at their company.”

Related Posts

Bitcoin on a TV tower, fan art

Bitcoin Resilient at $23,000

The PBoC printer as of Jan 2023

Did China Print Half a Trillion?

World Holds Breath For Russian Surge

MicroStrategy Increased Bitcoin Holdings

Load More
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
UK starts training Ukrainian troops on Challenger tanks.

World Holds Breath For Russian Surge

Backed Finance tokenizing stocks, Feb 2023

BlackRock ETF Tokenized on Uniswap

A Nationwide bank branch

Nationwide Restricts Payments to Binance

MicroStrategy HQ

MicroStrategy Increased Bitcoin Holdings

The PBoC printer as of Jan 2023

Did China Print Half a Trillion?

UK starts training Ukrainian troops on Challenger tanks.

World Holds Breath For Russian Surge

Crypto art

Can Ethereum’s Variable Tokenomics Address Inflation?

MicroStrategy HQ

MicroStrategy Increased Bitcoin Holdings

Comments

Latest News

  • Bitcoin Resilient at $23,000
  • Did China Print Half a Trillion?
  • World Holds Breath For Russian Surge

About Trustnodes

Terms of Service

Privacy Policy

Our Ethics and Values

Trustnodes Newsletter

(You have to be a paid subscriber)

Trustnodes © 2017-2023. All Rights Fully Reserved. For any Enquiries contact@trustnodes.com RSS Feed

No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Cart
  • Markets
  • Crypto
  • Web3
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Politics

Trustnodes © 2017-2023. All Rights Fully Reserved. For any Enquiries contact@trustnodes.com RSS Feed

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Authenticate with MetaMask Loading...

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

*By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?